The technology in this application pertains to an apparatus and a process for registering telecommunications equipment. In one arrangement the apparatus and process are useful for registering video and voice over IP (VoIP) phones to an IP (Internet Protocol) PBX system and effect activation of the phone.
Typically, new telecommunications equipment, such as a new Video Voice over IP (VoIP) phone needs to be registered and activated before a purchaser or customer can make use of the equipment. Today, commonly the new VoIP phone must first be removed from the packaging before it can be registered and the registration operation is a manual process. Once the package is opened the person responsible for effecting registration usually then reads the Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) address printed on the phone. Then, that person manually enters the MAC address into a call server database along with other information such as directory number (DN), phone user name, or configuration of one or more special service features. When it comes to registering hundreds or thousands of phones at a time, it is extremely time consuming to register them manually.
Attempts have been made to provide an automatic bulk registration. For example, in one system automatic registration is enabled in a call server and new phones are automatically registered on the call server by simply hooking up the phones and providing power to the phone which then reads its own MAC address and reports it to its call server. The call server then assigns a pre-defined DN to the phone and activates the phone.
This known automated arrangement still requires that each phone be unpacked before activation. Furthermore, there is a security hole in this auto-registration technique. While the auto-registration is turned on, an intruder can bring in a new unauthorized phone, called a rogue phone, hook it up to the network and start to use the VoIP phone service illegally. If the VoIP call server can be accessed through a wireless network, the security hole becomes an even more critical issue. Anybody outside of the office space in which auto-registration is being performed, (e.g., out of the building or on another floor) can register his/her wireless phone automatically to the call server and start to use the phone service without proper authorization if that phone is within range of the wireless network.